Vesuvius
by foggraven
Summary: Yuánfèn 缘分: a relationship by fate or destiny; the binding force between two people. Other character's thoughts on maximum victory.
1. Chapter 1: Jefferson

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They're doing it again

Despite my glasses I'm not as blind as the students sometimes think I am. And you'd have to be blind to not notice how Max and Victoria are going at it again. Honestly Max, what am I going to do with you.

Victoria can't seem to control herself around her, constantly poking and prodding at her like some grade-schooler with a crush that pulls the hair of the girl she likes.

Despite harsh words though it's obvious that Victoria doesn't mean what she's saying, well not completely.

They seem oblivious to the looks they're getting; half the class is watching them, some of them aren't even pretending to take photos of the partners they've been assigned for the lesson anymore.

It's like their in their own little world trading verbal barbs and snappy retorts as Victoria orders Max around trying to get her into position.

Victoria seems to bring out an inner fire in the normally reserved girl lately and Max expertly parries a snide remark about her clothes before counterattacking with a well timed comment about Victoria's attitude.

I can't help but smile a little as I watch, as a teacher you're not supposed to have favourites and you're definitely not supposed to encourage the sort of behaviour currently on display, but it's hard not to enjoy watching the show that's currently on display in my classroom.

Until now they've been locked in deadlock perfectly matched and I can't help but wonder who will win this time, then Victoria slips up and makes a mistake, "–maybe you're my problem."

It's the tiniest of openings but Max seizes on it and Victoria's face goes an interesting shade of pink.

She's on the defensive now and Max smells blood.

Gritting her teeth she tries to bite out a response which Max deftly deflects with a gleeful look on her face.

Uh-oh I know that smile, it's the one she wears when she's managed to come up with another John Lennon quote about life or something else to stop her from not getting into trouble for not handing in a photo again.

It looks like Victoria realizes it to, her eyes flicker around like a startled rabbit that knows it's trapped and is desperately looking for a way out.

In the end I decide to let things play out for awhile longer before after I've decided, in a strange reversal of their usual dynamic that Max has tormented Victoria enough and she looks like she's about to explode.

Her face is bright red and it looks like she's about to breath fire.

Quickly before my classroom suffers a repeat of Pompeii I intervene just as her body becomes overtaken with tiny tremors like a volcano about to erupt at any second.

Four minutes later I finally allow myself a sigh of relief as the class ends.

Victoria stomps off trying to look like she's ignoring the whispers and grins of the rest of the class who look like they've won the lottery from the looks on their faces.

It's pretty obvious from her flushed face and the slight trembles and spasms that she's not as unaffected as she tries to seem, and is likely to bite the head off anyone who calls her out on it.

Honestly Max, what am I going to do with you.

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	2. Chapter 2: ms Grant

An: So... new episode coming out, I'm excited.

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Max is a good kid

Maybe a little quiet maybe a little awkward but a good kid; and who hasn't been a little awkward during their teenage years?

It's a wonder she manages to get into as much trouble as she does.

Victoria though... Victoria's got trouble written all over.

From the way she walks to the way she talks to the way she dresses. Everything about her practically screams snotty rich kid. And she plays the part, spoilt, bratty and unused to not getting her way. Poor Jefferson has had to fend her off ever since he gave her that fail.

There's a core to Victoria though that I don't think many people see. The fragile young girl lashing out at the world to hide her vulnerability lest others take advantage.

Max see's it I think.

At the end of the day all of my children are just that, children.

Though she tries to hide it Victoria is hurting somewhere deep inside, wealth does not equate happiness.

Max though... Max makes Victoria happy.

While it's very small there's always the tiniest of smiles that belie the sneers she wears whenever the two of them have one of their little spats.

At first it seemed a little one sided and I worried that Victoria might just be taking out her own problems and unhappiness on Max, and I think at the start that might have been true.

Time has a strange way of changing things though and familiarity breeds empathy.

Victoria still can't seem to help herself but Max though, she fights right back and that more than anything seems to fluster her.

If anything I think Max might actually be the one who enjoys picking on Victoria now.

Mark told me all about the recent photography class debatical, from the way he told it, it looks like Victoria's going to have to watch herself around Max, it's almost like she's got a sixth sense that tells her exactly what to say, especially with Victoria.

Secretly I think he might enjoy their little fights.

I know Max is his 'unofficial' favourite but I can't help but think he might be subtly pushing those two together. Why else would he partner them so often?

I know they're expressly forbidden from being near each other during experiments after what happened last time, they can be... _reactive_. Not exactly something you want when students are working with chemicals that might blow up.

It'd almost be cute if there weren't still scorch marks on the ceiling.

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An: A little shorter this time, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Next time I'll be moving onto one of the students for a change.


	3. Chapter 3 - Kate Marsh

An: So episode three... wow.

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Max is nice.

She's always been kind, even if she can be a little nosey. We all have our imperfections though and I love her dearly.

Victoria though, she can be spectacularly cruel. There are a lot of words that describe Victoria and most of them aren't nice. That was at least until Max managed to curb her more extreme tendencies.

Oh she's still mean and she still likes to be the centre of attention but sometimes I used to think that maybe that was all she was capable of.

And it is for the most part, she can be petty and spiteful but like everyone there's a little kernel of good in her.

Max nurtured it and slowly over time it grew. The changes were slow but they were there. Over time she began to temper her, even if only slightly at first.

But while she is a stabilizing agent the two are also spectacularly reactive.

Like right now for instance.

I doubt that when any of the students in our class woke up this morning this was what they'd been expecting.

I don't know how it started but Max and Victoria were arguing about something as usual and somehow this had happened, though it seems less like a routine Chem Lab accident and more like an act of god straight out of something from the bible.

Was this how Noah felt!?

The only warning we got was a huge gout of fire that had scorched the ceiling and set off a chain reaction that had led us to our current predicament.

As far as signs from god go I think that one was pretty clear, Max and Victoria should never, ever be partnered together when chemicals are involved.

Divine providence aside we were currently stranded as the foam that had resulted from the mixture of the sprinkler systems water and the mostly harmless chemical solutions that had been lying about continued to gradually rise until we were all standing on our tables trying not to touch the result of Max and Victoria's latest quarrel.

Some of the others who hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way of the rising tide had discovered exactly how potent the foam was and the stains that covered them didn't look like they'd be coming out anytime soon.

I love you Max, I really do, but sometimes you make it really hard.

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So there's Kate's. I don't really know where this sits on the timeline or au scale so feel free to assume this happens in whatever time - timeline context you want.


	4. Chapter 4 - Chloe Price

An: Writing this one for Chloe broke my heart, this is for the alternate timeline Max created at the end of ep 3.  
Now a question: who do you want the next chapter to be?

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Ok maybe she had a little crush on her, how could she not?

Max was strong and cool, and she was her best friend, her only friend.

But Max would never want her, who would? The broken girl in the wheelchair who couldn't even walk or feed herself.

Victoria though, she was perfect for Max, everything she deserved, rich and popular, and cool, and... and, able to do all the little things for Max she never could.

Able to hold her hand, and to kiss her, and to make her laugh, Chloe could never give her that.

So Chloe might be a little jealous of Victoria, it was hard not to when she had just about everything anyone could want, from money to Max, but she made Max happy and that was better than being able to walk for a day.

Somehow Max still made time for her even with how busy she is being one of the premier up and coming young photographers.

She loves those little visits.

Max is still the same goofball she was when they were kids. A little taller perhaps, and a certified ' _cool'_ kid maybe, but she's still happy to wax lyrically about her crushes or Victoria now that they've finally gotten together after years of smoking the 'peace pipe' together, and sometimes she's glad she still has the ability to roll her eyes.

It's probably a good thing Max hasn't left her alone with Victoria yet otherwise she'd had spilled all of those adorable but embarrassing words to the other girl, something she has a lingering suspicion Max knows.

She almost feels like an old grandma sometimes, what with the wheel chair and the excessive need to relieve her boredom by gossiping.

So in the end she's happy for them because they have something she can't.

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An: From the little we saw at the end of ep 3, I could totally see Max getting with Victoria. That scene at the end with Chloe though made me feel pretty shitty, you've got to give it to Dontnod they're pretty good at playing with our feels, first Kate then Chloe, I'm kind of dreading what they'll serve up in ep 4.


	5. Chapter 5 - Nathan Prescott

**An: Get ready for the feels, and be warned this one's going to be dark.**

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He knows he's sick, he's been sick for a long time, in all that time Victoria's been the only who he could count on and now she won't even look at him, he knows she thinks he is in some way responsible.

He wishes he knew what was going on so he could tell her, but he doesn't.

Maxine Caulfield and Chloe Price are missing and Kate Marsh was found hanging from the roof of her hospital room soon after, joining them on the list of girls that have vanished from Arcadia Bay, and every day it feels like there's a storm that's getting closer.

Watching Victoria of all people putting up posters for Max Caulfield the bottle of pills in his pocket grows heavy.

Every day more whales wash up and sometimes he can't help but wish that it was him beside them. It would so easy he thinks, just to take a few too many. He would lie down on his bed a photo of his friend and a framed certificate by his bedside.

It's tempting, more than tempting. He's written out the words, pieces of paper, a letter for his sister and a one for her.

Would she even read it?

Once when they would have been the perfect match if it not for their own _proclivities_ she would have _._

How did things get so fucked up?

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 **It's been about two month since the last time I updated but I thought with the final episode coming up I'd give it awhile before finishing off my Life is Strange stuff sometime in the lead up. Thanks for reading, I'll see you all sometime after episode five, if it's anything like what we're all expecting then I'll definitely end up writing something for Lis after it.**


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